Finding You Was So Hard

Chapter 2

Niall hesitantly made his way over to where Louis and Harry were standing. When he got to them, they were both laughing about something. He took a few more steps to get closer to them and tripped over someone's chair. He stumbled forward, and the next thing he knew, he was on top of Harry. Harry fell back onto the floor with an unexpected grunt, catching Niall as they both fell. Niall's eyes widened in shock as he scrambled to stand up. It was just his luck that he would fall on this person he was trying to make a good first impression on.

Harry was shocked by the fall, but what he was even more confused by was the strange padding he had felt under Niall's pants when he caught him. He ignored it the first time, but when he touched it again when Niall was trying to stand, he began to wonder what exactly it was. Harry watched as Niall finally got to his feet. Niall's face turned cherry red, and he began to babble apologies as Louis helped Harry up from the ground.

"I'm so sorry! I'm not usually so clumsy, and I just-'' Niall rushed out, his throat tightening and tears pricking in his eyes as he realized what a fool he had made of himself.

"Woah, woah, woah," Harry cut him off. "Niall, right?" Harry confirmed. Niall nodded once. "It's really fine, mate. I'm not hurt; it's no big deal." Harry smiled reassuringly at Niall, feeling the overwhelming urge to hug him or something. He shook it off because that would be weird. Weirder than when Niall fell on him he supposed.

Niall took a deep breath and nodded. They both turned their heads when they heard Louis laughing. Harry gave Louis a dirty look as to say that he wasn't helping the fact that Niall was clearly upset and embarrassed about what had happened.

"Oh, lighten up! You gotta admit, that was so funny! Harry, your face was priceless!" Louis laughed.

"Right," Niall said, already averting his eyes. "I'm going to go. It was nice meeting you, Harry."

"You too," Harry said, smiling at him and trying to catch Niall's eye. "I'll see you around, yeah?"

Niall nodded before quickly turning and heading toward the bathroom. He almost started crying when he got there and realized that at some point he'd wet his nappy.

"No, no, no," Niall whimpered, running his fingers through his hair. He only then realized that Harry had probably felt his nappy. And what if he wet himself while he was on top of Harry? He also hadn't brought a spare nappy, so he was going to have to be in the soiled one until he finally convinced Louis to take him home. Everything seemed to be going downhill in such a short time, and the stress was starting to get to Niall. He tried his hardest to keep the tears from falling, but once one fell, they all started to. He took some deep breaths to calm himself down, but not before he heard the bathroom door open. Niall held his breath to hide to whoever it was that he was crying.

"Niall?" Harry called hesitantly as he stepped into the bathroom. "Are you alright?"

Niall panicked a little bit, recognizing Harry's voice. He cleared his throat and closed his eyes, praying that Harry wouldn't notice he'd been crying.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Niall said back.

"Okay..." Harry said. "I just wanted to make sure. You seemed a little upset. And you've been in here a while."

"Right, yeah, I'm okay," Niall said. He pulled his phone out of his pocket to open the front camera so that he could make sure his eyes weren't red from crying. He decided he was safe and flushed the toilet on his way out of the stall to make it look less obvious.

"Have you been crying?" Harry asked as soon as he saw Niall. Niall's face fell. Was it really that obvious? He thought he looked mostly normal. "Shit, no, you don't have to answer that. Sorry I keep asking questions. I know I don't know you very well and all, but I was worried about you. Sorry if I'm overstepping or anything, it's just what I do I guess." Harry said seemingly without stopping to breathe.

"Okay," Niall said slowly. "Well, I'm really fine. Promise."

"Alright," Harry said, turning to leave. "Can I give you my number? Or you give me yours?"

"We can type them into each other's phones?" Niall suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds great," Harry smiled, handing his phone over to Niall as Niall did the same. They both typed their numbers in before handing the phones back to each other.

"I'll talk to you later, then," Harry said, opening the door for Niall.

"Yeah, thanks," Niall said, smiling before he walked back over to his friends.

Niall walked and sat down a little awkwardly, trying to ignore the heavy nappy between his legs. He sat down slowly next to Louis where all of his friends were staring at him.

"You okay?" Liam asked as soon as he was seated.

"Yes, I'm fine! Why does everyone keep asking!" Niall exclaimed.

They all looked at him strangely for a moment before Louis said, "Okay, but boys, did you see that? He just fell on Harry! Priceless," Louis said, apparently still finding humor in Niall's clumsiness.

"Yes, we saw, Louis," Zayn said, rolling his eyes before going back to his pizza.

"Who's turn is it to pay tonight?" Liam asked, already pulling out his wallet anyway for the tip.

"Uh, Louis' I think" Zayn said.

"No! I paid last week, Malik. Nice try, though. It's Niall's turn," Louis said indignantly.

Niall huffed, but pulled out his wallet anyway. "Fine, but are you almost ready?" Niall asked Louis. "I'm having fun and all, but I'm really tired."

"Yes, Niall. I know the baby needs his sleep," Louis said kiddingly, reaching out to ruffle Niall's hair. Even though he was joking, Niall's cheeks still burned at his comment. Niall looked down at his phone awkwardly, waiting for the blush in his face to go away. Once the bill came, Niall paid it and waited impatiently for the waiter to return his card. As soon as he did, Louis and Niall said goodbye to Liam and Zayn. Niall felt bad for leaving their get together early, but he knew they'd be doing the same thing a week later.

"So what happened with Harry?" Louis asked as he drove out of the parking lot.

Niall shrugged before realizing Louis wasn't looking at him. "He just came to see if I was alright I guess."

"I see," Louis said in a way that made Niall think he really didn't. "He's a nice guy," Louis commented. "Known him forever."

"He seemed really nice," Niall said, and for what seemed like the hundredth time that night, he blushed over nothing.

Louis raised his eyebrow at Niall curiously, catching Niall's eye before he turned his head to look out the window. Niall let his mind wander to how concerned Harry had been for his well-being. No one had been so genuinely worried about him probably since he left home. Especially over something that really wasn't that big of a deal.

"Can I just crash at your place?" Louis asked, pulling Niall from his thoughts.

"Uh, yeah, sure," Niall said as Louis parked the car.

Niall plugged his phone in next to his bed, just waiting to hear from Harry again. Something in him made him wish things would have been perfect tonight, but he couldn't help but think that maybe the imperfections were worth it.